Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusBuy22 ratings
Bullish1881.8%
Neutral418.2%
Bearish00.0%
Ares Management Corporation · ARES · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
Ares Management: Record Fundraising and $1B Fee Revenue Drive Q1 Despite EPS Miss
Ares Management delivered a strong operational quarter in FY2026 Q1, with record fundraising of $30B, a milestone $1B in management fee revenue, and 18% AUM growth to $644B, even as EPS missed consensus by 6.8%. The firm's $100B+ dry powder and diversified platform across private credit, real assets, secondaries, and digital infrastructure position it to deploy capital amid market dislocations. Management maintained full-year guidance and raised the dividend 20%, signaling confidence in the trajectory despite geopolitical headwinds. The market response was modestly positive on the day with notable follow-on drift of 8.2%, and analyst consensus targets remain well above the current price.
Reported Before market openNYSEFinancial Services
$40.92B market cap
90quality score
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationAres Management Corporation functions as an investment firm specializing in alternative assets, with operations spanning the United States, Europe, and Asia. Its Tradable Credit division oversees diverse investment vehicles, including pooled funds and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, alongside publicly traded products and sub-advised funds aimed at retail investors, all within the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets. The Direct Lending segment delivers financial solutions to small and medium-sized businesses.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$1.24
Consensus $1
EPS surprise
-6.8%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$1.29B
Consensus $1.28B
Revenue surprise
+0.9%
Reported versus consensus
Earnings History
Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$124.6Current
$62Low
$164.39Average
$215High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 30, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oppenheimer | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 17, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Jul 13, 2026 |
| Citizens | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintain | Jul 9, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 9, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 23, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Apr 28, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Apr 21, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 7, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 24, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Strong Buy | Market Perform | Upgrade | Feb 9, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Feb 9, 2026 |
| UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jan 13, 2026 |
| Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Nov 4, 2025 |
| B of A Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Oct 3, 2025 |
| JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintain | Aug 6, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 11, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Hold | Hold | Maintain | May 9, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Feb 13, 2023 |
| SunTrust Robinson Humphrey | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Nov 25, 2020 |
| Keefe Bruyette & Woods | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Nov 25, 2020 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Neutral | Upgrade | Nov 25, 2020 |
| Bank of America | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Nov 25, 2020 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $124.6. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $160 | $121.14 | +28.4% | Jul 21, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $128 | $122.06 | +2.7% | Jul 13, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $139 | $120.29 | +11.6% | Jul 9, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $140 | $119.06 | +12.4% | May 4, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $163 | $122.32 | +30.8% | Apr 21, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Bart Dziarski | $173 | $115.94 | +38.8% | Feb 24, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $148 | $128.16 | +18.8% | Feb 20, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $180 | $135.12 | +44.5% | Feb 9, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Analyst unavailable | $215 | $128.94 | +72.6% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $165 | $128.7 | +32.4% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $121.87 | +52.5% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Brian Bedell | $155 | $121.87 | +24.4% | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $178 | $149.69 | +42.9% | Jan 27, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Analyst unavailable | $224 | $167.03 | +79.8% | Jan 20, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $198 | $169.5 | +58.9% | Jan 13, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $222 | $175.75 | +78.2% | Jan 9, 2026 |
| Wolfe Research | Analyst unavailable | $210 | $172.84 | +68.5% | Jan 7, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $218 | $176.82 | +75.0% | Dec 12, 2025 |
| UBS | Michael Brown | $201 | $178.3 | +61.3% | Dec 11, 2025 |
| Oppenheimer | Chris Kotowski | $190 | $153.75 | +52.5% | Nov 4, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $175 | $149.21 | +40.4% | Oct 21, 2025 |
| Oppenheimer | Analyst unavailable | $180 | $143.63 | +44.5% | Oct 14, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $187 | $148.64 | +50.1% | Oct 8, 2025 |
| JMP Securities | Brian McKenna | $195 | $180.34 | +56.5% | Jul 14, 2025 |
| Wolfe Research | Steven Chubak | $193 | $159.63 | +54.9% | May 6, 2025 |
| Barclays | Benjamin Budish | $182 | $160.96 | +46.1% | May 6, 2025 |
| Wolfe Research | Steven Chubak | $218 | $180.87 | +75.0% | Jan 3, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Kenneth Lee | $205 | $176.11 | +64.5% | Dec 10, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Kenneth Lee | $170 | $157.81 | +36.4% | Oct 11, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Michael Cyprys | $162 | $156.95 | +30.0% | Oct 10, 2024 |
| Barclays | Benjamin Budish | $174 | $160.39 | +39.6% | Oct 7, 2024 |
| CFRA | Kenneth Leon | $170 | $156.38 | +36.4% | Sep 23, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Michael Brown | $156 | $141.46 | +25.2% | Sep 11, 2024 |
| Redburn Partners | Nicholas Watts | $140 | $146.96 | +12.4% | Aug 27, 2024 |
| Barclays | Benjamin Budish | $155 | $139.26 | +24.4% | Aug 5, 2024 |
| CFRA | Kenneth Leon | $155 | $139.26 | +24.4% | Aug 2, 2024 |
| Barclays | Benjamin Budish | $151 | $134.78 | +21.2% | Jul 10, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Brian Bedell | $132 | $137.49 | +5.9% | Jun 13, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Brian Bedell | $176 | $146.7 | +41.3% | May 28, 2024 |
| UBS | Brent Dilts | $160 | $146.31 | +28.4% | May 22, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Kenneth Lee | $150 | $136.17 | +20.4% | May 7, 2024 |
| Barclays | Benjamin Budish | $150 | $134.64 | +20.4% | May 3, 2024 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $87 | $75.1 | -30.2% | Jan 12, 2023 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $82 | $68.14 | -34.2% | Dec 19, 2022 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $95 | $79.53 | -23.8% | Nov 15, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $87 | $68.79 | -30.2% | Apr 29, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $90 | $81.94 | -27.8% | Apr 20, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $92 | $79.71 | -26.2% | Apr 19, 2022 |
| Barclays | Jeremy Campbell | $62 | $53.55 | -50.2% | Apr 12, 2021 |
Track every rating change on ARES the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeMarket reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
+1.4%
Event window
SPY move
+0.3%
Same window
Abnormal move
+1.1%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
1.3×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
+8.2%
Up to 20 sessions
ARESSPY benchmark
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Try FN2 freeTranscript intelligence
What changed
AUM grew 18% YoY to $644B, with fee-paying AUM up 19% to $400B. Management fees exceeded $1B for the first time, up 22% YoY, while FRE margin expanded 90 bps to 42.4%. Record $30B gross capital raised in Q1, a 46% increase versus last year's best Q1. Dry powder surpassed $100B. X-energy completed a $1B IPO at a 20% premium, lifting Ares' fair-value stake to ~$700M from a $100M cost basis. An independent AI-risk review found 86% of the software loan portfolio low risk, only 1% high risk. Dividend increased 20% to $1.35 per share. EPS of $1.24 missed the $1.33 estimate by 6.8%; revenue of $1.29B beat the $1.28B estimate by 0.9%.
Guidance delta
Management maintained FY 2026 guidance with no upward or downward revision. The most notable positive signal was a 20% dividend increase to $1.35 per share. Management expressed confidence in continued margin expansion and fund deployments despite geopolitical headwinds.
Key takeaways
- AUM grew 18% YoY to $644B; fee-paying AUM up 19% to $400B
- Management fees topped $1B for the first time; FRE margin expanded 90 bps to 42.4%
- Record $30B raised in Q1, up 46% from the prior best Q1
- Dry powder exceeds $100B for continued deployment
- Dividend raised 20% to $1.35/share; FY 2026 guidance unchanged
- EPS of $1.24 missed estimates by 6.8%; revenue beat by 0.9%
Management priorities
- Launch a new unlevered evergreen U.S. senior direct-lending core product
- First close of the global data-center equity fund this summer
- Hard-cap fundraising for the Japan Logistics Development Fund and European direct-lending fund
- Continue expanding the digital infrastructure platform through Ada Infrastructure
- Maintain aggressive fundraising targets and pursue opportunistic credit and secondaries
Related earnings events
Financial ServicesHIG · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026The Hartford Beats on Q2 Core Earnings, Divests Hartford Funds, Expands Buyback to $4.2BAXP · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026AXP Q2 2026: Platinum Card Drives 10% Revenue Growth, Full-Year Guidance RaisedAMP · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026Ameriprise Q2 2026: Revenue Up 13%, EPS Beats on Record AUM and AI-Driven Productivity
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-30T03:31:15.387819+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-30T03:31:15.384864+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.